Is Fasted Cardio the Best for Burning Fat?

That was the sound of my alarm going off. It was 3:45am, and the year was 2000. This is when I first started dieting for photoshoots and magazine layouts.

It was early. Way too early. Even after yesterday's long day at work, I was grinding hard to climb the corporate ladder and would be working another 12-14 hours today.

It was imperative that I got up early and performed my cardio apart from my weight training. I was hungry, angry, lacking any motivation, and in a fasted (before breakfast) state.

Back then I thought that unless you performed fasted cardio in the early morning, you were wasting your time. Unless you could feel your stomach eating itself from the inside out, you were not burning fat. Unless you drove to the gym twice a day to get cardio done in the morning apart from your afternoon or evening weight training, you were just a fat slob.

Stop that madness now! I am here to tell you that you have been lied to. No matter when you do cardio, you will burn fat. Fasted cardio is not superior to any other method.

Why Fasted Cardio Isn't Superior for Burning Fat

This has been put to the test in the lab and the results confirmed my beliefs.

In a study published in the JISSN, a group of twenty females were split into two groups on the same macronutrient diet. One had a shake before the cardio, one after cardio. The results found little to no difference. [1] What does this mean? It means that neither good nor bad comes from fasted cardio, and it provides no additional benefit.

But I will delve in further, beyond the studies. I want to present my thoughts as to why you should never do cardio on an empty stomach if at all possible. I will also state that if you do, you probably won't experience any deleterious effects, but you won't see any benefit either.

But, you also might kill the person on the treadmill next to you.

My Take on Fasted Cardio

Think about it. You go to sleep and wake up six to eight hours later. You don't eat.

If you went eight hours during the day without eating, wouldn't you think it's time to grub? Heck yes! But that's not all. Now you have to do cardio. That's another 20-60 minutes of activity post-fasting. And that's not all. What if it is HIIT (high intensity) cardio? This is a lot to ask of your body!

Also, energy. When you wake up hungry with no substrate in your system, you will not be able to perform optimally. This is where having something in your system comes into play.

Another issue is time. In today's busy society, most people cannot afford the time to go to the gym twice daily, so post-workout cardio is the best option. Get in and get it done!

Heck, I am a pro bodybuilder and even I can't find that kind of time. Between my career and having three children there is no way I could go to the gym twice a day. So what are you to do? Get it all done at once!

What the aforementioned study shows us is that it isn't about any magical timing of cardio. It's about the overall caloric balance at the end of the day. If the cardio is used to create a caloric deficit, it doesn't matter when it is completed, it just matters that you complete it.

So when should you NOT do cardio? Really the only time I can think of is pre-workout. The reason for this is because it might take away from your energy to complete the most important catalyst in the gainz-puzzle, lifting weights!

The caveat here is IF you need to do a 5-10 minute warm-up to get your body going. For example, a 10 minute bike ride to get your legs ready for leg day. Other than that, just do your cardio AFTER weights and make sure you crush it during your weight training session.

Nutrition for Your Cardio

When you perform cardio post-workout, simply finish the remainder of your intra-workout drink. This guy here drinks MTS Nutrition Machine Fuel. If your cardio is done as a standalone, I like to make it a bit freaky

Post-Cardio if you train with weights first, drink what you post-workout. I have Carb 10 and Machine ISO.

Dosing MTS Nutrition Drop Factor WITH MTS Nutrition Yohimbine HCl

Start with ONE capsule Drop Factor upon waking.

Once you can tolerate one capsule, increase to one capsule upon waking and one capsule 6-8 hours later NOT to be within 5 hours of bedtime.

Once you can tolerate the above dose, add one capsule to the morning dose for two capsules in the AM and one capsule 6-8 hours later.

Once you can tolerate the above dose, add one capsule to the afternoon dose for two caps in the AM and two capsules 6-8 hours later.

Then we add in YOHIMBINE HCl.

For a person taking 15mg, BE SURE TO ACCOUNT FOR THE DOSE IN DROP FACTOR, and for the max-four-capsule dosing is 5mg! At 2.5mg per capsule, you will need 10mg of EXTRA Yohimbine HCl, or 4 capsules per day.

If Cardio is done SEPARATE from weights: ALL CAPS TAKEN WITH ONE SERVING DROP FACTOR 30 MINUTES PRE CARDIO! Add one Yohimbine HCl at a time as tolerance is assessed.

If Cardio is NOT being done, simply split the dose and take with the Drop Factor doses, starting at one cap and working up as you assess tolerance.

If doing cardio post-workout, take the Yohimbine HCl DURING your weight training workout 15-20 minutes before you are done with weights. Then, hop on the cardio post weights.

Nutrition for Optimal Gains

We cannot have an article on cardio and no hint on HOW to diet and train. For this information, read this.

No More Fasted Cardio Suffering

Get your cardio done, whenever you can do it, and do not suffer for those gains! Because enjoying cardio, That's Not A Game!

Marc is currently Chief Marketing Officer of TigerFitness.com, a 2012-2017 INC. 500/5000 company as well as Owner/CEO of two of the fastest growing supplement companies, EthiTech Nutrition and MTS Nutrition.

Marc is Vice President of the American Natural Bodybuilding Federation; Partner in Hollywood Militia Training; President of "The Uprising Muscle Camps, a 501c non-profit organization and also publishes MachineMuscle.com, an online health and fitness publication and owns the clothing line Machine Training Gear. Alongside this, Marc is a Professional Bodybuilder.

As the leader of Scivation, a multi-million dollar, globally distributed sport nutrition company, Marc was the most accessible and energizing sports nutrition company CEO in the history of the industry. During his seven years at Scivation, he launched and developed Team Scivation, an online personal training and diet program, into the largest of its kind in Sport Nutrition history with over 70,000 concurrent members.

Prior to starting Scivation, Marc was a co-founder of, and served as Chief Marketing Officer for the Sylvester Stallone sports nutrition company, INSTONE, LLC. Marc also spent over four years working for Weider Publications’ Muscle & Fitness, FLEX, Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness Hers magazines.

Marc has been featured in Muscle & Strength, MuscleMag International (Italy), and Ironman (Australia) magazines, and has appeared in Men's Fitness as a physique model. Marc has authored several print articles that have appeared in trade magazines such as Muscle & Fitness, as well as online at Bodybuilding.com, and has also co-authored 10 books on the subject of physique transformation, with titles such as, The Fat Loss Factor; Game Over: The Final Showtime Cut Diet You'll Ever Need, The Diet Solution: The NEW American Diet, C.H.A. Diet: The Final Answer on Carbless Bulking & Cutting, The Fat Loss Factor, and The Lifestyle Cut Diet: The Final Diet You'll Ever Need to Stay Lean and Healthy.

* Tiger Fitness does not imply any medical advice in this article. There are no guarantees of specific results and results may vary. Please consult your family Dr. before starting any diet or training program.